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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29100483">Ol' Buddy, Ol' Pal</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndroR/pseuds/AndroR'>AndroR</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Depression, Gen, Going through the motions, Gun Violence, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Post-Undertale Soulless Pacifist Route, Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Sad Sans (Undertale), Sans (Undertale) Needs a Hug, Self-Hatred, Suicide Attempt, Triggers, Undertale Monsters on the Surface, there's a big bad monster after you tho, undertale - Freeform, you're friends with a lot most the cast</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:27:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,128</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29100483</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndroR/pseuds/AndroR</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>TRIGGER WARNINGS: Gun violence, depression, self-hate, attempted suicide<br/>There aren't any graphic (i.e. detailed) depictions of anything, but the themes and events are there so I added the warning to be safe.</p><p>This is a post-pacifist route fanfic told through short chapters. (Whether it's a true or soulless run hasn't mattered as of yet.) It follows the life of a typical human who winds up becoming friends with the Undertale cast and trying to go about their life.</p><p>(I also include tracks from the Undertale Soundtrack at certain points because I'm cringey like that and I enjoy setting a mood.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alphys &amp; Undyne (Undertale)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>First off, I wanna preface this with the fact that there are dark themes written throughout this fic in mild to moderate detail. These include gun violence, depression, self hatred and self-beration. There may be more added in the future.</p><p>I've been working on this for a little while now and figured I might as well start posting what I have! This is primarily a practice project where I just let the story flow and see where it takes me. I don't have any big plans and while there's definitely some big conflicts and some violence portrayed, there's some slice of life themes as well.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's just another day of you not knowing how to live your life and mostly going through the motions. Until one motion sends you tumbling over a sad skeleboy. That kind of sends your life into a different motion.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>TRIGGER WARNINGS: Self-hatred, attempted suicide</b>
</p><p>	You stood down in the empty expanse that was the concrete channel, all by your lonesome. It was a Tuesday evening, around 5:45 pm you were pretty sure. Not that the time really mattered. You let out a heavy sigh, stuck an earbud in and selected a playlist on your phone. With that, you pocketed it and kicked off on your rollerblades. Thus began the next few hours of doing nothing important and letting your mind wander aimlessly while you engaged in an activity that had been your favorite thing to do as a teen. Rollerblading. As you glided along, you thought about where your life was going and what you were doing with it. Not much…You looked up at the sky as the wind drifted through your hair. The clouds slowly floated along in the sky about as lazily as you usually were.</p><p>	Seemingly without cause, you felt something thump against your gut that made you flip forward. You landed on your head and plopped on your back with a painful thud. It was times like these that made you wish you actually wore a helmet. Earbud popping out of your ear, you inhaled with a sharp hiss as you held the top of your head with both hands. What the hell just happened? You were almost certain there had been nothing in front of you before. Your eyes opened to look up at the space you’d just done a flip over to see a kid in a blue jacket slumped in front of you. </p><p>	“Oh my gosh! Are you okay?? I’m so sorry, I didn’t see yo-” You were on your knees in a flash reaching for their shoulder when they turned around and you saw it wasn’t a kid, but a living skeleton. Their sockets were dark and empty save for two white specs of light in their centers which were trained directly on you. Your eyes widened and you blinked, totally shocked at the sight. He looked at you with an arched brow bone, clearly uncomfortable by your silent staring.</p><p>	“Oh man, I’m sorry for staring. I’ve just never seen anyone like you before. Uh...not that that’s..a reason to stare. Shit, I’m sorry.” You said awkwardly, rubbing your arm as you looked away. The skeleton waved it off as they stood up and brushed themselves off. </p><p>	“don’t worry about it. i shoulda been more careful.” They replied, their voice leading you to believe they were male. You stood and brushed yourself off as well. Your head still throbbed but you decided to ignore it. The pain would pass eventually. Then it occurred to you that your headphone was gone and you groaned as you searched around for it. </p><p>	“lookin’ for this?” The skeleton asked, holding a black earbud out to you between his index and thumb bones. You looked at it with a quiet “oh” and pocketed it. </p><p>	“Thanks. Uh..” You hesitantly introduced yourself. Because that’s something adults normally did in situations like this, right? Introduce themselves to someone they just plowed over with their rollerblades. You chuckled inwardly at the stupid thought. </p><p>	“(Y/N), huh? i’m sans. nice to meet ya.” He said back. Sans. That was an interesting name.</p><p>	“Sans the skeleton, huh? Nice to meet you, too.” You smiled a bit, kicking a skate against the ground as you used the other to keep yourself stable on the ground. You were about to say that you should get going when Sans spoke up.</p><p>	“say. ya wanna sit on that bench over there for a bit and chat?” He asked, pointing at a bench up at the top of the channel wall. It sounded to you like he was looking for a distraction. Which reminded you that so were you. You looked up at it for a moment before agreeing. The two of you hiked up to it and plopped down with a sigh. You skates had made it difficult, but Sans had kindly helped pull you up the steep incline. His bony fingers digging into your hand had not been the most pleasant feeling and you rubbed your hands together as you stared out at the orange sky. He may not have had soft hands, but he was one for great conversation, you found.</p><p>	A sudden chill ran through you and you rubbed your arms, looking around and realizing it’d gotten dark. Your eyebrows rose as you glanced at your watch. It read 8:13 pm. </p><p>	“Wow, it’s really that late already.” You laughed as you spoke and then looked over at Sans, “Sorry I took up your whole evening.”</p><p>	“naw, don’t be. i asked you to sit.” He held up his skeletal hands in a “don’t worry” manner before standing up and stretching his arms above his head. You followed suit and checked your phone. Just a couple app notifications. Nothing important.</p><p>	“guess i’ll get goin’ then. seeya round.” He said. He gave you a two fingered salute and turned to start walking off.</p><p>	“Oh, Sans!” You called and he looked at you over his shoulder curiously. “Uh. Do you wanna trade numbers and hang sometime?” You asked. Part of you didn’t actually want to ask, but it’s not like friends grew on trees and you’d just had conversation after conversation with this guy for two hours straight. He was cool. Sans looked down, seeming to weigh his options before turning around with a smile that you’d decided was what his expression defaulted to.</p><p>	“yeah, sure thing. here.” He handed his phone to you and you took it, gingerly typing in your own number. You handed it back and he texted you with his name. It brought a smile to your face and made you wish meeting new people (or monsters) always went this smoothly. </p><p>	“Cool. Seeya later.” You gave a small wave before sliding down the decline of the channel wall and skating off. Sans waved back and watched as you glided away before he disappeared. </p><p>-----</p><p>	That Saturday was a rainy, grey-skied day and you stared out the blinds of your window to watch the rain fall. You’d wanted to text Sans and see about hanging out, but the weather wasn’t ideal. You looked down at the text he’d sent you a few days ago of his name, then sighed and tossed your phone on the couch. It was still morning so there was a chance of the weather clearing. The weather forecast, however, denied that possibility. Welp! Guess not then! Guess it was going to be another day of lounging around at home. Once you were settled on your bed, you started scrolling through SelfScreen on your laptop. This was how you spent most of your days. That wasn’t something to be proud of, you knew, but it was something to distract yourself with. Although it was absolutely a waste of time and you were thoroughly disappointed in yourself each evening after having wasted yet another day, knowing you should’ve been doing something productive. Your brows knit together and you shut your laptop, sliding it away from you.</p><p>	Today wouldn’t be the same. You hopped off your bed, grabbed your raincoat, and headed for the stairs. Despite the massive downpour just outside your door, you were determined to get out of the house. If you didn’t do it now of your own accord, it wouldn’t happen at all until you were forced. Then bitterness would set and make you feel even worse. With your hood pulled up and an umbrella equipt, you set out on your journey to...where? You’d gotten about 5 minutes of walking in before you realized you didn’t know where the hell you were headed. Fan-fucking-tastic! This was exactly like you! You decided to do something to better yourself without thinking it through. A bitter expression scrunched up your face as your eyes watered. Who the hell were you kidding? You were just another human on the crust of this earth passing time until death claimed you. What you did didn’t matter. Your life didn’t matter. Nothing really mattered...Everything may as well have been a waste.</p><p>	With a ragged breath, you rubbed your soaked coat sleeve over your tear-drenched eyes and stepped under the cover of a coffee shop’s awning. After several minutes of standing there glaring at the ground and clenching your jaw, your rage finally fizzled out. You let out a defeated sigh and walked into the cafe. A steaming cup of black coffee. Not like you felt like you deserved any better. You sat at one of the empty tables eyeing it before taking a swig. It made you pull a face betraying the fact that you weren’t used to the bitterness. You heard someone across the room from you snicker and your eyes shot up to them in a glare. They were definitely laughing at you. Just some rando boy, not like you really cared what he thought. But it still annoyed you a little. His face softened when you made eye contact and he waved at you. Oh. Guess he wasn’t making fun of you. You didn’t wave back, and instead looked back down at your coffee. Today was really not what you were hoping for. You’d just finish this and go back home to waste the day. That’s what you were good at.</p><p>	“Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend.” A voice said as the chair across from you scraped back. You looked up to see it was the same boy. You shook your head quickly.</p><p>	“No, it’s fine. I’m just not having a good day.” You said. </p><p>	He nodded, “I understand. Well...I’m sorry. Those...suck.” He sounded like he was trying to comfort you, but didn’t know how. You were strangers after all. It made your mind work a bit. Why would he bother? A simple apology would’ve sufficed. A quiet “yeah” was all you muttered. He sat there for some time and it was starting to look like he wasn’t going to leave.</p><p>	“Uh...you don’t have to stay here.” You said after a bit, “With me, I mean. I’m fine, really.”</p><p>	“I know, it’s just…” He trailed off as he looked down. Apparently it was his turn to look troubled. His fingers were twined together and he bumped his thumbs together as he thought of what to say next. Somehow you found yourself wondering what that was going to be, too. “It’s just that I feel like I might’ve been where you are now recently and no one was there for me. So...I dunno if you’ve got anyone there and...I thought I’d check?” (Actually he was still there, had been there a long time, and you were the first thing to make him laugh in ages. This was his way of helping someone in need while also helping himself.) The honesty of the confession made you uncomfortable, but the sentiment warmed your heart. Kindness from a stranger was often the most endearing in your eyes. So long as it had no ulterior motives. But you still weren’t sure what to make of it while in this headspace and mostly you just wanted to be alone. </p><p>	“That’s really nice of you, but...I don’t know you.” </p><p>	“Do you need to?” He asked. You paused. Did you?</p><p>	“Guess not..”</p><p>	“Then go ahead. I’ll listen.” He leaned back in his chair and the smallest hint of a smile showed on his face. After some delay, you started off on a spiel of how you felt like you wasted all your time doing insignificant things, how you’d been unemployed for months and still lived with your family, how you felt like no matter what you did it always fell through or didn’t make a difference for you. Everything felt pointless. Nothing significant ever turned out in your favor. Sure a big part of it was you not working hard enough, but any time you did try it seemed to not matter. </p><p>	As you spoke, the boy nodded and sprinkled in acknowledging sounds. In a way, it annoyed you since it was unnecessary. In another way, it made you feel like you were being listened to for once. His expression seemed to be focused on you the entire conversation. Or, rant more like. Once you’d gotten everything off your chest, you let out a deep sigh and rubbed your forehead. Something in you felt lighter somehow. Your head hurt less, too. Wait, you’d had a headache all day and not even noticed? How long had you had this headache, that you hadn’t even noticed it in so long? Man, what a day.</p><p>	“Ya know what? I think things will get better for you soon.” He said. This time his smile was totally visible and the brightness of it shocked you. (It wasn’t so much what you said but the way you processed your emotions through the rant and the appearance that you were looking better after that helped him. Why was he depressed, you ask? He induced several resets after breaking the barrier and of course Sans knew he had those abilities so he felt like Sans was the only one he could tell. Why did he do any resets, you ask? Idk. I never know important backstory stuff like that.) You shrugged your shoulders as you leaned back in your chair and looked at the floor. Your coffee had gotten cold and after another swig, you decided you definitely couldn’t drink it. The boy snickered again. “What do you normally get?”</p><p>	“A cortado.” You left out the fact that you liked to put sugar in it sometimes. He nodded and got up from the table. No way, he wasn’t.</p><p>	“Hey wait!” You called but his long legs meant he was quick and he was already at the counter ordering something by the time you even got those words out (Mettaton is so proud of those legs). Within a few minutes he was back at the table and placed a coffee in front of you, then sat down with his own. “You didn’t have to do that.” You mumbled, looking down at the new coffee in embarrassment. He was just smiling as he leaned back and looked down at the ground in front of him. Another hour passed with you two chatting about nothing in particular. Finally you both decided you had places to be.</p><p>	“Oh. What’s your name?” You asked.</p><p>	“Chara.” He smiled. You smiled back and introduced yourself as well. “Thanks for humoring me. Don’t get sick in the rain.” He said and headed off with an umbrella over his head.</p><p>	Once again pulling your hood up, you left the cafe with your heart feeling lighter than it had in a long time. You stood on the sidewalk and looked up, letting the rain hit your face for all of two seconds before you realized how awful that felt and ducked your head back under your umbrella. Looking at the ground with a “how tf could I have just been so stupid?” expression, you set out walking again. You still didn’t want to go home. It didn’t feel like home, anyways. You probably wouldn’t feel like you had a home until you had a place that was yours and yours alone, you mused. </p><p>	For the next few hours, you walked all around town. Your jeans and shoes, which had dried previously while in the cafe over three hours, were soaked up to your knees with new vigor. Thanks, rain. That was awesome. You visited the music store to look at vinyls and guitars (even though you didn’t play or have a record player). You checked out the comic book store to see if there was anything interesting. Surprise, there was. Overlooking the usual superhero comics, you found some interesting fantasy titles that you’d resolved to come back for when it wasn’t raining. Finally, you found yourself at the concrete channel where you usually went rollerblading. Sadly, you’d left your blades at home but you could still walk along the top of the channel. It was around time for the sun to set, but with the overcast clouds, you couldn’t see it. Bummer. Down below, the channel was filled with several inches of water so you wouldn’t- </p><p>	“Wait.” Looking down into the channel, you could have sworn you saw someone appear literally out of nowhere. Maybe you just hadn’t noticed them before. The figure just stood there, letting the rainwater slosh over their legs and soak their shorts. You blinked your eyes in disbelief before trying to call down to them, but the pouring rain coupled with the roaring rainwater in the channel made it impossible to be heard. You were starting to panic. They definitely would be swept away if they weren’t careful or lost their footing. But obviously they weren’t in there on accident, which made you panic even more. Were you witnessing a suicide?</p><p>	All coherent thought in your mind broke away as you jumped down into the channel and rushed towards the person. Holy shit, they were so short, was it a kid?! You reached out and grabbed the child by the shoulders, effectively wrapping one arm around them and hoisting them back up the channel wall with much effort. Finally at the top and far enough away from the edge of the channel, you fell face first onto the grass. You left your arm draped over the child’s chest as you heaved each breath in and out trying to catch it. </p><p>	You heard your name being muttered in question and looked over to see that it wasn’t a child you’d just heaved out of the channel, but Sans. Huh. Guess you got to hang out today after all. You both lay there for some time in silence before you sat up and grabbed his hand to pull him up.</p><p>	“Let’s get somewhere dry.” Was all it took. You’d lost your umbrella to the storm, so the two of you had to walk in the rain with just your hoods for protection. Thankfully there was a convenience store just a few minutes away. Standing under the giant awning that shielded the gas pumps, you finally could get a decent look at the skeleton. He looked like he’d been roughed up pretty bad. The rain had probably washed away most of the evidence, but his jacket was ripped in some spots as were his shorts. You tried to question him, get something out of him, but he calmly and stubbornly brushed off your interrogations. </p><p>	Finally, you settled for, “Are you okay?”</p><p>	“yeah, i’m fine.” </p><p>	It was obvious he wasn’t, but it was also obvious he didn’t want to talk about it. Alright new plan. You grabbed Sans’ hand, pulled him into the convenience store, and had him pick out several snacks and drinks. He didn’t really seem like he was choosing anything he really liked so much as he was simply appeasing you. You picked some, too, as well as an umbrella, and paid for everything. You didn’t say anything to him, just motioned for him to follow you. He didn’t protest. In all honesty, it didn’t look like he had much of anything in him and it pained you even though you barely knew him. He seemed to you like he’d had his shit together earlier this week yet here he was looking totally lost and out of it. </p><p>	It took some walking, but eventually you made it back to your house. Your folks and siblings were in, and you hastily called to them in greeting before guiding Sans up the stairs to your room. Once your door was shut, you went to work setting up the snacks and drinks up on your tiny coffee table and turning the TV on. You handed Sans a fresh set of clothes that hopefully wouldn’t be too big on him and took a pair for yourself to go change in the bathroom. You got rid of your soaked clothes and then paused as you stood outside your door. You couldn’t hear anything, but decided Sans might want a minute to himself so you waited a while before knocking and heading inside. Sans wore a pair of your denim shorts that looked more like baggy pants on him and a cropped hoodie whose sleeves went a couple inches past his bony fingers. </p><p>	“Oh man.” You tried to suppress your laughter, but didn’t quite succeed. Sans, on the other hand, did laugh and it relieved you that he might be feeling less stressed now. You walked over to roll the sleeves up to his wrists and he let you. It was definitely overstepping boundaries, but your nurturing instincts had kicked in.</p><p>	“thanks.” </p><p>	You smiled and then moved to sit at the coffee table. He followed you still looking a little uncomfortable yet less upset than when you’d found him at the channel. You played Matteo Kart and Mega Thwack Pals for hours. It seemed like you were both evenly matched. Sometimes he’d win and sometimes you’d win. After your fifth round of Matteo Kart, Sans fell on his back with his arm over his eyes and a huge sigh. You’d won that round, but he was smiling like he’d won.</p><p>	“thanks for all this.” He said after a few moments of silence. You smiled just as big as he did.</p><p>	“I mean, what’re friends for?” You asked. He laughed like you’d told the funniest joke he’d ever heard and it made you look over at him with furrowed brows. That was kind of overkill. You bit your lip when you heard the laughs begin to shake and realized he was tearing up under his arm. His shoulders were shaking, too. You were about to reach out to pat his shoulder when he spoke up.</p><p>	“i lied. i’m not fine.”</p><p>	Oh shit. What were you supposed to do in a situation like this? Would it be weird to hug him? You didn’t really know how else to comfort someone that was crying like this. Plus he was laying on the floor and you didn’t want to scare him. Although he didn’t seem like the type to scare easy. But still. What if he misunderstood your intentions? </p><p>	But you couldn’t just let him be like that. You took a breath and pulled his arm up carefully, along with him, and then slowly pulled him into a hug. You pat his back and damned if it wasn’t the most awkward hug you’d ever given in your life. But he seemed comforted. Sans rested his forehead on your shoulder and let out these quiet laughs that cut off like he was holding back sobs. Seemed he didn’t like showing his emotions. After some time, he calmed and pulled away. His eye sockets, you were surprised to find, showed signs of recent tears in the form of smear spots where the tears had been. You watched him for some time, not wanting to break the silence as he stared down at his knees. Eventually he let out a more sincere laugh and looked at you.</p><p>	“ya wanna play another round?”</p><p>	“For sure.” You returned the grin he gave. You both picked up your controllers and played for several more hours. It was well into the night when Sans realized the time.</p><p>	“i’d say it’s about time i head home. let’s hang out again soon.” He stood and stretched his boney arms over his head, as well as his legs as he stood on his tip toes. </p><p>	You stood as well and agreed. He waved at you before disappearing. Literally into thin air. Your eyes went wide and you blinked. Then you looked around your whole room. He had to be shitting you. You grabbed your phone and texted him, asking if he seriously just disappeared out of your room. The dots appeared, then were replaced by “yeah” with a wink emoji. You let out the breath you’d been holding and held your forehead, looking at the TV for a minute. Suddenly both times you’d bumped into Sans at the channel made sense. He could fucking teleport. This was insane. You knew monsters had powers, but you hadn’t expected teleportation to be among them. A laugh escaped you without you realizing and you had to hold your stomach to settle down. This really was crazy. What a guy. </p><p>	After turning off the TV and console, you heaved a heavy sigh and flopped on your bed. So your new friend was a teleporting skeleton that liked video games. Nice plot twist, life. You could get used to this.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Nightmare</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Here we are at present-day. Er, night. It's a rough night, but thankfully you have a friend to ground you.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>*Danger Mystery<br/>You woke up with a start, holding your chest and heaving. The room felt claustrophobic despite being a good size. You looked around expecting to see something horrid and awful, but nothing was there. It felt like there was a sinister presence with you even so. </p><p>“Nightmare…” You murmured before shutting your eyes and falling back on your pillow and pulling the covers up. Your kept your eyes shut for sometime but couldn’t shake this strange feeling. A tight sensation in your chest that kept you on edge, anxious. What had that nightmare been about..? The whole thing was blurry now, even though you’d just woken up from it. Something had been hunting. It’d been after everyone and everything in its path. You shuddered; only able to recall the feelings you’d experienced in the nightmare.</p><p>Slowly, you opened your eyes again, glancing around the dim-lit room for something - anything. Something had to be here, you could feel it. Why else would you not be calming down? You forced your eyes shut again, now tossing and turning. Taking several slow, deep breaths only briefly alleviated the pain before it quickly came back. Whatever the sensation was, it felt like something was tightly gripping your heart and squeezing. Hard. What was with this? You’d never felt anything like it before. Sure you’d had a panic attack or two, but nothing this physically debilitating. You could feel your eyes starting to tear up and sweat beginning to form on your brow. After a few more minutes spent still tossing and turning, you sat up once again. Still nothing there. </p><p>“I’ll just...go to the living room.” Something about this room felt wrong, yet nothing was happening. Your eyes shifted from spot to spot as you slid out of bed and headed for the living room. </p><p>*Quiet Water<br/>Your room was located in the kitchen. Yup. The kitchen. It was inside a secret entrance which one would - under normal circumstances -  assume was the door to the sink cabinet. It originally had been just a cabinet but Papyrus had used his magic to make it grow. He’d wanted to show off once. At least, that’s what he’d told you. Walking out of the kitchen, You glanced towards the stairs. </p><p>“I could go get Papyrus or Sans to stay up with me for a bit..” You said and headed up the stairs. Without much thought, you headed straight for Pap’s door. You lifted a closed fist to knock, but stopped just before it hit.</p><p>“C’mon...I’m too old for this. And it’s not nice to make anyone stay up with me.” You decided to grab your pillow and blanket from the bedroom and set up shop on the living room couch. The TV was turned on and the volume set to an appropriate level for the hour: 4 am. On the TV was one of Mettaton’s many shows. This one was some monster comedy modeled after human ones. You were pretty sure you’d met a couple of the monsters on that show. You flicked the channel and some thriller from the surface came on. Ever since the barrier had been broken, monsters and humans had mingled and begun living on both sides. However even nowadays not very many humans lived underground since it was different and so dimly lit. The barrier breaking had been a long time ago. At least a few decades, but you were unsure of the exact year.</p><p>Taking a breath, you find some solace in being out of your room. While the painful sensation in your chest had not entirely gone, it was bearable now. About 30 minutes or so passed and you had your eyes closed, listening to the TV and starting to doze off until you heard a creaking sound. Your eyes flew open and darted to your door, expecting to see some atrocity emerging but saw it was still closed. You sighed with relief and leaned back, holding your forehead. </p><p>“what’re you doin’ out here? and at this hour.” A low, level voice asked. You shouted in surprise, wide eyes finding Sans standing in front of you with a quizzical look on his face and his hands in his PJ pants pockets. </p><p>“Sans,” You sighed and placed a hand over one eye, “I was trying to sleep. But I think that’s kind of off the table now.” A chuckle escaped both of you before you sat up straight on the couch attentively. </p><p>“What about you? What’re you doing up?” Sans tilted his head back towards the kitchen before disappearing. The fridge opened and a ray of light filled half the kitchen before going out again. You watched for a while, expecting him to come back out but when he didn’t you sighed and leaned back against the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling. He must have teleported back to his room. You were me with mild disappointment. You’d sort of hoped you might have some company for a bit, but let it go since you were so tired.</p><p>For a while, you thought back on what had happened in your bedroom. Bits and pieces of information floated around in your head as you tried to discern what the nightmare had been about. And why you’d woken up in so much pain. The nightmare seemed totally void from your memory now. You couldn’t even remember what the creature that was pursuing you had looked like...What it had wanted...If it could be stopped...Be stopped? You paused, wondering why you felt the need to stop it even now. It had only been a nightmare, right?</p><p>“midnight snack.” You heard Sans say, now standing in front of you once again. You jumped a bit and pinched the bridge of your nose at the skeleton’s cheeky grin and wink; that was his trademark expression. He always liked to sneak up on you because you were so easy to startle. You tried to sneak up on him, too, sometimes, but seldom succeeded. However, on the rare occasion that you did, it was usually celebrated with some kind of treat like Nice Cream. Sans’ way to encourage you to keep trying, you thought. Maybe he wanted to help you get over your nervousness. A cold cup of water was pressed against your arm and you gasped before pushing it away, causing it to spill everywhere. </p><p>“water you doing, you?” Sans laughed. </p><p>“Noooo, no puns at this hour.” You buried your face in your pillow in a feeble attempt to escape Sans’ jokes. It was futile. </p><p>“mind if i join you?” Sans asked after you’d both cleaned up the spill and returned to your ostrich act, pillow edition. You shook the pillow along with your head and felt the couch shift in turn. Sans sat on the opposite side from you and flicked through a couple channels. He stopped on a home renovation show and you wondered if he usually watched stuff like that or was simply throwing things to the wind given the hour. You decided to watch the show as well. It was actually fun to see the before and after of homes being remodeled and improved. This was nice; not being alone in the middle of the night after a horrible nightmare. </p><p>“hey..you all right?” The question left you pondering how to answer until you gave a quiet affirmation. </p><p>You glanced over to find that Sans did not look convinced. Waving your hand dismissively, you assured him you were fine with a half smile forming on your lips. You leaned over the arm of the couch and stared down at the floor, mostly in an attempt to get away from your friend’s assessing stare. It was obvious Sans wanted to keep questioning you, but he didn’t. He could see something was on your mind, but he wasn’t going to push you. If you wanted to talk about it, you would. He watched the TV absently and drank his condiment-turned-beverage.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Spaghetti and Pancakes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>TRIGGER WARNING: Gun violence</p><p>Papyrus is being a loving and supportive big brother/friend and grocery shopping goes awry.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>TRIGGER WARNING: Gun violence</b>
</p><p>*Home<br/>The next morning, (the great) Papyrus woke up and sat up to stretch his skeletal arms. Getting up and coming down the stairs, he found you and Sans sleeping on opposite sides of the couch. </p><p>“NYEH? WHAT ARE THESE TWO DOING HERE?” He wondered. He stood for a good moment, debating if he should wake you up. Suddenly a giant smile spread across his boney face and he headed for the kitchen. Papyrus came back out several minutes later with three steaming plates of spaghetti in his arms. </p><p>“Rise and shine, sleepyheads!” You both sat up startled, wide eyes looking up at your skeletal food bringer. You both exchanged looks before smiling back at Papyrus.</p><p>After breakfast (You may or may not have opted to make pancakes “as a side dish” to the spaghetti which may or may not have only been eaten by Papyrus), the three of you sat at the table a while longer to discuss what you all planned on doing with your day. Papyrus had a cooking class with Undyne planned for later and Sans was going to get groceries on the surface. All three of you needed things that couldn’t be found in the underground. </p><p>You stared down at the wooden table, not really listening to the two. You’d ended up grabbing a plate of spaghetti after all, having felt a twinge of guilt for initially not eating what Papyrus had so thoughtfully prepared, but now you could only bring yourself to twirl your fork through it.</p><p> “PSSST, SANS. WHY IS (Y/N) SO QUIET THIS MORNING? WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MATTER?” Papyrus whispered to his brother. Sans shrugged, then looked back at you. The way you’d acted last night was still nagging at his mind. Your demeanor had changed drastically from what it usually was and both the skeleton brothers were worried.</p><p>“hey. wanna go to the surface with me today? running to the store and stuff.” You  absently nodded. It’d be good to get out of the house. You hadn’t gone back to your room since you’d left it last night, save to change into clean clothes for today. It felt like a good idea to get away from it.</p><p>*Shop<br/>Shortly after that, you two were heading out the door and waving goodbye to Papyrus. You hitched a ride from the River Person to Hotland and jumped onto the lava shore. </p><p>“So hot. I can’t stand it.” The words came out between pants as you tried to fan yourself with your hand. </p><p>“eh it’s not that bad.” You look at him with a disbelieving frown, earning yourself a hearty laugh from Sans, “welp, i’ll meet ya at the barrier.” With a two fingered salute, Sans stepped through a portal and was gone before you could grab him. </p><p>“That cheeky jerk...” You sighed and started walking, only making it about four steps before you fell right into a hole. You tumbled a few times until you finally landed on your back. Or...it would have been your back if you weren’t floating above the ground right now. You looked up to see a snickering Sans standing between you and the barrier, his left hand held out as if it were holding something despite it being empty. He was using his ability to suspend the gravity around you. You hated when he did that to you, but this time you were grateful as it had kept you from an unpleasant meeting with the ground.</p><p>“I bet you think you’re real funny, don’t you, Mr. Skeleton man?” You gave a smile that betrayed the humor you’d tried to plaster irritation over. What a miserable failure, you thought to yourself with the grin still plain on your face. Both the skelebros always knew how to make you laugh.</p><p>Sans turned his hand to put you on your feet and gave the ol’ shrug and wink, “i’d say hilarious or…the type to sweep someone off their feet.” He wiggled what would be eyebrows if he had any, earning an obligatory groan from his friend. You bumped him playfully and headed through the barrier.</p><p>*Snowy<br/>	Walking through the streets of the surface wasn’t all that exciting for you since you’d spent most your life on the surface. Papyrus, on the other hand...Even though the barrier had been broken a long time ago and you all came to the surface regularly, Papyrus still greatly enjoyed it. It was like a road trip or holiday, you guessed. As you continued down the street, you noticed San’s eyes caught on a person up ahead. They were older, and there was a woman around the same age at their side. As they came up to the couple, Sans tapped the shoulder of the person, who turned around and suddenly smiled big. </p><p>“Sans! It’s been a long time. How have you been? You haven’t aged a bit!” You tried to hang back a bit but Sans made sure to keep you near. You weren’t exactly in the best headspace for this, but you smiled anyways. </p><p>“i’ve been alright, kid. you and the wife look great, too.” Sans laughed. It was obvious he and this person were close and your smile became more genuine. The two caught up on what they’d been doing, how the couple’s kids were, and other things. After a few minutes where you tried your hardest to avoid talking at length, Sans waved goodbye to the couple and the two of them started walking again. </p><p>“That person was nice. You seemed close.” You commented, looking over at a street stand of fruit. Sans smiled, looking down as if he were recalling something. </p><p>“they’re an old friend, we go way back.” Sans said, then paused before continuing, “that was Frisk.”</p><p>“No way, that was Frisk? After all the cool things you’ve told me about them, I’m bummed I didn’t talk to them more.” You said, suddenly becoming animated as your cheeks lit up red. Sans chuckled at the sudden outburst of energy. After an hour and a half, you’d finished the shopping and were walking back to the barrier entrance. Lunchtime had passed a good while ago and it seemed most people were either at work or indoors. </p><p>BANGBANGBANG!!! </p><p>*Burn in Despair<br/>The sound of gunshots cracked and bounced between the large buildings surrounding them as a few screams could be heard in the distance. Without your seeing it until it had already happened, tall and thick bones had sprung up from the ground like a barricade around you and Sans. You were so shaken that you’d dropped the bags of groceries you’d been carrying. Sans’ bags had not fared any better. All you managed to do was mutter Sans’ name in question. </p><p>“don’t worry, we’re okay.” He assured you. Finally you followed San’s eyes to see a man knocked back on his bum glaring up at you. He had a gun in his hand and slowly you realized what had just happened. He’d tried to shoot you both.</p><p>“Ha! You think you can win against a Gun, even with your freak magic?! Give me your Money, Monster! I won’t miss next time!” The man exclaimed as he aimed in between two bones. You could see a snarl spread across Sans’ face as he held up both his hands and pushed them away from him quickly. The bones followed his movement, dragging up the concrete in front of them as they struck the man back further from you. His screams made you shudder. Two bones sunk back into the ground, the asphalt crumbling around them. Sans walked through the opening to the man. He wasn’t seriously wounded, but was scratched up pretty good and maybe had sprained an ankle while he’d been dragged along. </p><p>“you think this is the right way to do things? going around shooting people for whatever agenda you’re pushing?” Sans’ voice had taken on a deathly serious tone that made your blood run cold. You’d never seen him like this before, despite having known him for years. The Sans you knew was good natured, kind, a bit lazy, and enjoyed the occasional pun. The air around you all was thick and heavy with tension, making it hard for you to breathe.</p><p>The man merely whimpered and begged Sans to let him go, earning himself a click of the tongue from the skeleton. Sans pulled a cellphone from his pocket and dialed 911. Police arrived promptly to arrest and take the man into custody. Paramedics also arrived to survey the scene and ensure no one was injured. </p><p>*Premonition<br/>You sat quietly on the tailgate of the ambulance as a dog monster checked you out. He patiently asked you questions about what you’d experienced, if you or Sans had been hurt, etc. You answered each question patiently. From time to time you’d look over at Sans, who was speaking with the police. Given how shaken you were over the whole thing, you were at least glad you didn’t have to be interrogated. </p><p>“Miss? Miss!” The dog monster quietly barked. Your eyes widened as you looked back at the paramedic. </p><p>“You’re free to go. Your vitals all check out! I recommend you and your friend rest once you get home.” He said kindly. You couldn’t help but smile back. He had an air about him that made you feel safe and taken care of. You thanked him and hopped down off the tailgate, then headed over to Sans.</p><p>After being released, the two of you gathered what was salvageable of the groceries and finally headed home. The walk, however, was gratingly silent. Sans knew he’d scared you, but wasn’t sure what to say. He hadn’t exactly taken into account that seeing the way he gets when fighting would’ve frightened you. He had been more concerned with ensuring neither of you died. It wasn’t until you’d walked through the barrier that you bumped Sans’ shoulder with your own and smiled, albeit looking a bit troubled. That was all Sans needed to smile back.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey thanks for reading my first big Undertale fanfic project! If you enjoyed, please say so in the comments! I'm always open to suggestions and feedback for my grammar, formatting, storytelling, etc. Thanks again and have a good one!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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